Airline asks crew members to watch their weight

Budget European airline Ryanair will do anything — anything — to save money. Among the cost-saving measures, a spokesman told London’s Daily Telegraph, “we even encourage staff to watch their weight – with the motivation of appearing in the annual Ryanair calendar.”

The airline supports a “fat tax” for overweight passengers, considered removing armrests, and started printing its in-flight magazine on smaller paper. It also cut the amount of ice used onboard and reduced the weight of seats.

Ryanair isn’t the first airline to ask crew members to lose weight. In 2010, Turkish Airlines gave 28 flight attendants an ultimatum: Six months to lose weight or face reassignment.

It also isn’t the first time Ryanair and CEO Michael O’Leary have proposed crazy cost-saving measures. The airline once considered charging for toilet use before dropping the idea. Other schemes have included standing-room-only seats and reducing the number of toilets to one.